ABA to Launch E-Commerce Web site This Summer

Association spending $2M on BookSense.com

After several months of speculation, the American Booksellers Association announced last week that it expects to have an e-commerce Web site for independent booksellers set up by August. The site will be called BookSense.com and Len Vlahos, currently ABA's communications director, will head up the service.

ABA is spending approximately $2 million to develop and market BookSense.com. The "back end" of the site will consist of the 1.6 million titles contained in the Muze database, as well as shopping and transaction processing. Booksellers can use their own Web site as the front end or design a site based on one of several templates that will be provided by the ABA.

Vlahos toldPW that Baker &Taylor will be the association's fulfillment partner, although he said that if B&T d s not stock a title that has been requested, the order will be filled by the local store. Vlahos said the ABA expects most consumers to go directly to their local store's site, but for customers who go to BookSense.com, the ABA will refer the customer to the nearest Book Sense store.

To participate in the online service, booksellers must be part of the ABA's Book Sense marketing campaign. The association will charge a one-time set-up fee of about $500, and monthly charges will range from $175 to $400.

The ABA will provide national content for the site and is likely to include such offerings as recent award winners as well as a BookSense Bestsellers list. Stores will be able to add their own local content. According to Vlahos, it has not yet been determined if Booksense.com will carry advertising, but he added that if advertising is incorporated into the site, "it will be obvious what is a paid advertisement."

Vlahos said that the ABA is in the process of putting together a BookSense.com staff, and that the association's immediate need is for someone to oversee the site's content development.

Seeking Book Sense Support

The ABA is also soliciting contributions from publishers to help support the association's Book Sense marketing campaign, which is slated to be launched at BookExpo America. Random House has already agreed to contribute an unspecified amount.